The Winner of the Ring
by MerlinRuler
Summary: Gandalf and Elrond disappear and Frodo must investigate. Will he and his friends get to them in time and uncover the truth?
1. The Stars in the Sky

**A/N: Sorry to anyone who read this story and didn't understand- ****I've changed the ending of LOTR a bit. Hope you enjoy! **

**Chapter 1: The Stars in the Sky**

"No, no, no!" hissed Gollum. "The precious is gone. My precious.. No, no, no." Gollum hissed and retreated to the back of his cave. He had to come up with a plan to get it back…..

Meanwhile, Frodo Baggins was sitting with Elrond in Rivendell, who was studying the Ring closely. "You should have destroyed it, Frodo" he sighed. "The Rings power is growing, after all."

"I know" said Frodo, looking at the ring. "I just couldn't make myself do it. Ah, well" he said, leaning back in his chair. "At least Sauron is dead." Elrond looked at him closely. Then he sighed. "I'm not so sure, Frodo" he said, staring into space.

"What do you mean?" asked Frodo. "Surely he's dead; Sam saw it with his own eyes."

"Yes, I know _that_!" said Elrond. "I know _he_ believes. I want to know this though… do you believe?"

Frodo sighed and looked Elrond in the face. No" he said, in a slightly worried voice.

"I've been getting this feeling from the Ring. Whenever I put it in my pocket, I have this feeling. I think he's still alive."

"You think who's still alive?" asked a cheery voice. It was Merry Brandybuck, one of Frodo's best friends. He wandered into the room, carrying a big cup, full of steaming hot chocolate. "Nobody, Merry" answered Frodo. "We were just having a little discussion about Sauron."

"Well, I'm all ears" said Merry, plonking down into a big armchair. "What were you saying?"

Frodo looked at Elrond. Elrond looked at Merry and said to him "We were just debating whether or not we thought he was alive." Merry laughed and looked at Frodo in surprise. "Oh, Frodo" he said cheerily. "I never thought you would lose your mind more than what happened in the inn at Bree. I wish I'd been there to see it." He laughed and stared into space for a minute. "I guess I was wrong."

"What do you mean by that" started Frodo.

"Shush" said Elrond. "Merry" he said. "I am afraid that it might be quite true. Frodo has just told me more about the Ring. He's been getting this feeling.

"Really" said Merry, sitting up to hear the story. "What did he say?"

"Well" said Elrond. "It goes like this…"

He told Merry everything that Frodo had just said about the Ring. "So you base all this on a feeling that Frodo had." He grinned a little, before falling to the ground and rolling all over the place. Hot chocolate went _everywhere._ "No!" shouted Frodo, over the yelps from Merry. "It is more than just a feeling. It's a…"

"Okay, Frodo" laughed Merry. "Okay." He wandered out of the room. "I'm just going to get some more hot chocolate" he called over his shoulder. "Then I'll come back to hear why." They heard him yelping and laughing to himself all the way to the end of the corridor. "Well" said Frodo. "That went well."

"It most certainly did" said Elrond.

"Oh, how can we make them believe he's alive?" asked Frodo.

"You really want to do that now?" said Elrond. "Isn't it a bit early?"

"Yes, I do" said Frodo. "I want to do it now. I just need to know how."

"The only way to persuade them is for you to persuade yourself" a low voice said. "Only then well they see the truth."

"Gandalf!" said Frodo and Elrond, together. Frodo looked round at the door. No one was standing there. "Gandalf?" said Frodo, looking blankly round the door. "Yes, Frodo?" came a voice from behind. Frodo took two steps back and looked round, smiling. There was Gandalf standing in the corner of the room. "Where did you come from" said Frodo.

"Me?" said Gandalf. "I've been here the whole time."

"When did you get back from Helms Deep?" asked Elrond.

"I've been back…" said Gandalf. "About a month, maybe more."

"So you arrived earlier than you meant too" said Elrond.

"No" said Gandalf. "As, I've said once before, a wizard is never late, nor is he early he arrives precisely when he means too." Elrond smiled as Frodo burst out in wonder... "Helms Deep? What were you doing there?"

"I was merely looking at something concerning me and Elrond."

"What were you looking at" asked Frodo. "Is it about Sauron?"

"Well... it is connected yes" said Elrond, speaking for the first time. "It was just… Gandalf was looking at the…

"Err… excuse me Mister Elrond" came a voice. "The kitchens are wondering whether you are ready to eat." Sam peeked round the door. "Tell them we are, Sam" answered Gandalf. "Thank you." Sam bowed and said "Pleasure to help Mister Gandalf. Sam turned and walked away whistling. He turned to Elrond and Frodo. "Well I guess we don't have time to tell you Frodo" said Gandalf. "Ah well you can just go to tea and we'll come right behind you."

"Okay" said Frodo cheerily. "But you'll tell me later, won't you?"

"Of course we will tell you." Said Elrond, smiling. Gandalf just frowned and steered Elrond over to the other chairs and whispered him something. Elrond looked up and said to Frodo "You can just go now, Frodo."

"But you promise you'll tell me later" asked Frodo.

"Maybe" was the answer. "But you can just go now."

"But…"

"Go" shouted Gandalf. Frodo jumped and ran out the door as fast as he could.

When the starter was served Frodo noticed that Gandalf and Elrond were not present at tea. When it was the main course they still hadn't come to the table. "Sam?" asked Frodo. "Do you know how long Gandalf and Elrond will be before they get here?"

"No, I'm not sure, Master Frodo" answered Sam. "I think that they are in the counselling chambers though." At that minute the main course was taken away and dessert was served. Dessert was a massive triple chocolate iced gateau. Frodo looked at it in wonder and as he looked over at Sam he saw his mouth drop open with amazement. Frodo reached into the centre of the table and grabbed the smallest slice. He ate it in two bites before picking up his napkin wiping his mouth and excusing himself from the table. He walked through the beautiful gardens and walked through the daunting brass doors of the counselling chambers. He then stopped walking and looked around him. He couldn't see Gandalf or Elrond anywhere in the room, but he could hear the rustling of the branches. He drew his sword silently and took one last look around. His eyes pasted the chairs, past the table and then returned his eyes to the chairs. He found a note lying in the stuffing of the chair and pulled it out. The note was addressed to him and was just like Gandalf's writing. He opened it and read it swiftly. The note had the words

_"Frodo, Elrond and I have gone away to Minas Tirith. We are searching for more evidence on Sauron. We would like you to stay there and not do ANYTHING drastic. Sorry we can't tell you any more, but I can say this.. we are being watched._

_From Gandalf_

_P.S I completely believe you and your ring problem but please don't tell anyone else save Pippin and Sam._

Frodo stared out the window. The stars were twinkling brightly and the moon shining bright. For a second Frodo was convinced the stars made Gandalf's face and the moon made Elrond's face. Frodo looked up and saw the starry Gandalf putting his hand out and the stars around forming the words… stay there. Frodo looked round the room, but no-one was there. He sighed. No-one ever thought he could do anything anymore…..


	2. The Missing Wizard

**Chapter 2: The Missing Wizard**

Over the next few days, Frodo began to feel more and more left out of things. Well, telling the truth whenever Sam or Merry or Pippin tried to engage him into conversation, he always turned down their offer and said he had 'more important things to do.'

One morning Frodo was lying in bed when Sam walked into the room. "Uh, Frodo" he said, sounding slightly worried. "Go away" said Frodo, grumpily.

"Okay" said Sam. "I just thought you'd want to know the news. He started walking towards the door.

"Wait" said Frodo, stopping Sam from leaving. "What news?"

"We know more about Gandalf and Elrond"

"What do you know?!" asked Frodo quickly.

"We have proof from the guards that went looking for them. Apparently they entered the Mines of Moria, four days ago and they've had watches everywhere and Gandalf still hasn't come out yet" said Sam. He said all of this in one breath and was looking exceedingly nervous. Frodo looked up towards the ceiling. He thought of Gandalf and Elrond. He then thought about the power of Sauron and decided what to do. "Send a message to the guards. Tell them that if they aren't out by tomorrow then to send a message. We'll either send more guards or go ourselves!" Sam looked astonished at this answer but he agreed with Frodo and then walked out of the room. Frodo lay down in the soft pillows. He thought about Gandalf and he thought about Helms Deep. However, no matter how many things he had to think about, he sank further into the pillows and fell asleep again.

When Frodo woke up again he found that it was late morning. He got out of bed quickly (he didn't want to miss another meal), got changed and walked downstairs. There he found Sam, Merry and Pippin talking quietly in the corner. As Frodo pushed through all the Elves, he thought that there was an unusually large amount in that room. When he finally made it over to his friends, he asked them why they were all in the room. "Oh, hello Frodo" said Merry, answering his question first. "I think they all just want to hear his speech." He pointed up onto the raised platform that had been placed there the day before and there Frodo saw the Ranger that had gone with him, the wielder of the sword Anduril (the replica of Narsil), Elrond and Gandalfs close allies and friend and his king, Aragorn. As Frodo was thinking about him, Aragorn spoke for the first time. "Elves, Men and Hobbits" he said, looking and nodding at Frodo and his friends sitting in the corner. "We are together in this room to talk about the mysterious disappearance of Elrond Half-Elven and our fellow wizard, Gandalf the White. Now as I'm sure you've all heard, the guards we sent to find them have seen them with their own eyes going into the Mines of Moria. And as I'm sure you all also know that they still aren't out of the Mines. Now Gandalf the White repaired all the rockfalls, so it should only not take you to long to get through the Mines. Gandalf has taken a week already. So therefore, I think we need a plan. We would like you to choose what to do. The council have come up with a few ideas, but before we share them I would like to hear the views of Mr Frodo Baggins." He stopped talking and signalled to Frodo to come onto the stage.

Frodo stared at Aragorn for a while, who smiled at him and signalled for him to come up to the stage. Frodo sighed, before smiling and walking up to the stage. He looked out to the crowd of Elves and Men. They smiled back at him. He took a deep breath before saying in a worried voice "Friends. I did not know I was doing this so don't be surprised if you hate my ideas. Okay, my first idea is to go with my friends to the Mines and find Gandalf." There were many murmurings and people nodded in the crowd. Pippin, however ran out of the room with Merry close behind. "My other idea is to send more guards to the Mines." Everyone didn't looked very pleased at that. They were probably thinking about their own safety. Frodo looked round the room. "So I take it from your reaction that you want us to go ourselves." More than half nodded. "Right" said Frodo. He turned towards Sam. "Unlucky, guys. Looks like we're off on another advent... Wait a minute... where's Merry and Pippin?" Sam smiled and pointed to the corner. There were Frodo's cousins cowering together. Frodo laughed and said "Sorry guys. But we are going on an adventure whether you like it our not!"


	3. The Friends Head Out

**Chapter 3: The Friends Head Out**

"Mr Frodo, sir" said Sam. His knees were knocking together and he looked like he had seen a ghost. "Mr Frodo, are you sure this is a good idea?" He was packing his bags of all the equipment necessary. So far he'd packed food and water (plenty of it) and rope (he didn't want to forget it this time). "Why shouldn't it be?" asked Frodo. "I mean… we are saving Gandalf, right?"

"Yeah" said Sam. "But…

"And you do want to save him, don't you?"

"Yes I do. But I just feel like we're walking into a trap, that's all."

"Don't worry" said Frodo. "We're not going alone."

"What do you mean?!" asked Sam.

"We're coming too" came a rough voice. Sam turned around. There, standing in front of him was Gimli the Dwarf and one of the members of the Fellowship of the Ring. Behind him was Legolas, Gimlis best friend. Sam smiled. "Good" he said. "If you guys weren't coming, I don't know what I'd do."

"Frodo" said Aragorn. Frodo looked around. He was busy packing all of his clothes and was unhappy that he was distracted. "What" he said.

"I just wanted to tell you that I am sorry that I can't come with you."

"What" said Frodo. "But I thought that you were coming. I've told everyone that."

"I'm sorry" he said, "But I can't come." Aragorn turned round and walked into his royal bedroom in Rivendell. Frodo looked at him, shrugged his shoulders and just walked away. He didn't really care about anything. He was still deep in thought about everything else that had happened recently.

"Sam" shouted Frodo, sitting up in bed. "Sam!"

"Yes Frodo?" said Sam, running into the room.

"What time is it?" Frodo asked. "I woken up by some noise.

"It's nearly dawn, Frodo" answered Sam. "It's nearly time to go. You'll have to get up now."

Frodo stared at Sam, but got up, not wanting to make a further delay. By the time he had got out of bed, brushed his teeth, got changed, walked down the long corridors of Rivendell and outside and had got ready by his horse (with a slight delay as he'd forgotten his bags,) the sun was well up and everyone else was sitting on their horses, shouting at him. Frodo leaped up onto his horse, said "Sorry" to the others and was flying off. The others looked after him in surprise, before Sam roused them all and leaped after him. Pippin and Merry rode in the middle of the line, with Gimli and Legolas bringing up the rear. "Legolas!" shouted a voice. Legolas turned. There in front of him was Aragorn. Legolas looked at him. Aragorn then said "I fear that I will have to see you before your journey is over" he said. "But beware, Legolas, although Frodo does not see it, the Rings power is growing once more. Be careful" Legolas bowed and answered " I'll be careful, Aragorn. You can trust me." He veered his horse around and rode off, Aragorn shouting after him "Do not enter the Mines without me. Don't let any madness drive you in there."

By the time they had stopped for the second time for lunch, they had already made five leagues of land from Rivendell. Legolas, who was now at the front, looked at the path ahead. He still couldn't see the Pass of Caradhras, but knew they was still far to go. "What can you see" asked Frodo. "Do those sharp eyes see anything?"

"Not yet" said Legolas. "But we still have far to go. And I can smell orc blood. We must hurry." Sam stood up. " Whenever you're ready, Mr Frodo we'll head out." Frodo stood up too. "We have to hurry away from the orcs. It's better to leave sooner than later." Pippin and Merry agreed and stood. However, Gimli said that he would rather stay and see the orc blood for himself. He put a hand on his axe and lent against it. Legolas shrugged and leaped lightly onto his horse. "Well, if you'd rather stay here and then walk all the way to Moria, that's fine by me" Gimli stood quickly after this comment. He leaped up, and with help from Legolas got onto the horse.

"Moria." Legolas was looking ahead again and could see the Pass of Caradhras. He could see it now thanks to the rising sun. He knew that just past the Pass was the Mines of Moria. Frodo looked under his shoulder and could just see the peak of the mountains. "I can see it too now" he said. "I can just see the peaks." Gimli looked out. At first he said that apparently he couldn't see it, but everyone knew he was lying. He probably didn't want to go there because of his cousin, Balin his so-called cousin. He had been found dead in the Mines. Frodo leaped onto his horse and without warning took off. Sam looked at the dust blankly for a minute before he too leaped up and followed with the others close behind.

By the time they they had reached the pass it was aready time for dinner. They found shelter in a rotten cave, which reminded Frodo of the story told by Bilbo before they were captured by the goblins. Frodo lay on his back in the cave. He yawned. It had been a long and exhausting day. "We'll stop here for the night" he said. "We'll need to be fresh for the morning." The hobbits nodded and lay down around Frodo, getting their blankets out of their bags. "I'll take fist watch" said Legolas and Gimli at the same time. They both walked out and sat against the cave. Sam served each of the hobbits a recipe for boiled potatoes, before walking out to give some to Legolas and Gimli, the two friends. Sam walked back in, lay down and immediately fell asleep. He dreamt of Gandalf and Elrond, trapped in a dungeon with Sauron standing in front of them. He walked up with a gasp and then remembered it was just a dream. He lay down and went to sleep again. He didn't believe Gandalf the White was trapped. Little did he know what they were going through right now...


End file.
